The embodiments herein generally relate to prevention of counterfeiting and product authentication and, more particularly, to methods and processes of marking products for identification and/or to prevent 3-D scanning and copying of products.
Product, component, and part counterfeiting is becoming an increasingly more difficult problem faced by manufacturers. Counterfeiters not only copy music, videos, software, drugs, and fashion, they have also extended their abilities to enable the copying of manufactured products, including automotive, aircraft, aircraft engine, helicopter, elevator, and climate control components and parts. The counterfeit parts may be virtually identical in appearance to certified parts, especially when coupled with counterfeit packaging. Thus, it may be extremely difficult to differentiate between a counterfeit part or component and a brand name, original, or certified part or component. For example, differentiation may only be possible with very costly analysis and processes to examine a component or part to determine if it is a counterfeit or an original.
The counterfeit parts may be interchangeable with and may easily be intermingled with existing supply chains of certified parts. While the counterfeit parts may be interchangeable or at least substantially interchangeable, the counterfeit parts may suffer quality issues and performance issues that affect the safety of the product in which the parts are used. As such, the manufacturer of the product could be held responsible for part failure or injury if the manufacturer cannot prove a defective part's origin. Further, the manufacturer may ultimately be held responsible to ensure the quality of their product, regardless of part origin. Thus counterfeiting exposes the manufacturer to potentially added liability and production costs. Further, it is estimated that more than $650B in global sales are lost to counterfeit goods annually with more than $200B in the United States, and 92% of Fortune 500 companies are affected by counterfeiting.
One of the common technologies for copying parts is the use of measuring techniques using 3D scanning processes like Coordinate Measurement Machines (CMMs), laser scanners, x-ray scanners, structured light digitizers, industrial CT scanners, and similar devices. These techniques rely on directing electromagnetic radiation at the surface of or passing electromagnetic radiation through the part to create an image. This results in a pixilated digital image of the part in three dimensions which can then be converted into a solid model using mathematical techniques. Traditional Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) are then employed to fabricate a counterfeit part based on the digital image generated during scanning of the product, part, or component.
In order to reduce liability and cost to manufacturers, various solutions have been proposed. For example, anti-counterfeiting approaches have included embedding RFID tags and/or employing sophisticated holograms to enable determination of the source of a part or component. Such holograms have been marketed by DuPont, under the trademark IZON™, which is a 3D security hologram that is easily authenticated, but difficult to duplicate. The 3D security hologram can be applied to a surface of a component or part, and the 3D hologram can be observed to determine authenticity regarding source of manufacturing of a component or part.